Spouting off about beer in the Pacific Northwest (and wherever else we're drinking)

Friday, July 18, 2008

Coffee and beer…what a lovely combination

Last night the four of us headed over to MacKenzie for Furthermore’s release of Oscura. We got there before the 7:00 release and I was pleased to find that they still had some Surly Coffee Bender and Two from the night before, as I’d been too lazy to make it there two nights in a row. Coffee Bender is one of my favorites so I enjoyed a pint of that before switching over to Furthermore for the night. Chris made it there just in time for the tapping of Oscura as he’d had another Furthermore event at Zip’s at 5:00.

I love Coffee Bender and am always pleased when it turns up somewhere, but Oscura really blew me away. I don’t think I’ve ever had a coffee beer that was this smooth, both in flavor and mouthfeel. Steve thought maybe this was the result of the maize used and having not ever had a beer like this before I’m willing to go along with that. Furthermore describes this beer as warm-fermented and cold-lagered. However it came to be I hope they keep making this one!

In addition to the Oscura tapping they were also giving samples of their Knot Stock, Three Feet Deep and Proper. I hadn’t had the Proper before and will have to try it another day to give it a fair chance. After Coffee Bender, Knot Stock and who knows how many Oscuras my palate wasn’t in any state to appreciate the subtleties of this beer.

The turnout for this event was better and probably more suited to the beer than the Fatty Boombalatty one a Harvey’s (before it became the Ugly Mug) a couple months ago. I’m glad Furthermore is still pursuing this market, even will all the distributor issues of late. Can’t wait to wear my new Grrrl T out soon…thanks Chris!